LAWMA To Establish Waste Recovery Station in Badagry

By Dansu Peter  The Lagos State Government in a bid to enhance sustainable waste management is set to establish a Material Recovery Facility...

By Dansu Peter 

The Lagos State Government in a bid to enhance sustainable waste management is set to establish a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in Badagry, aimed at advancing its efforts toward a cleaner environment and promoting a circular economy.  

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, revealed this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.  

According to Dr. Gbadegesin, the initiative is part of LAWMA’s broader strategy to minimize waste pollution through improved resource recovery and waste-to-energy projects.  

He disclosed that the agency plans to decommission the Olusosun Dumpsite at Ojota and other major dumpsites across the state to make way for the new facility and additional waste-to-energy plants.  

“Once the dumpsites are closed, waste will be redirected to the Material Recovery Facility in Badagry, where we will extract biogas to generate electricity while effectively managing the waste,” Dr. Gbadegesin said.  

The construction of the facility, expected to span approximately 15 months, is designed to harness biogas for power generation, particularly from organic waste.  

“In the case of Olusosun, we are looking at collaborating with industrial facilities located near the dumpsite to utilize the generated gas for powering their generators,” he added.  

The LAWMA boss noted that the state government is working closely with various investors to establish waste-to-energy plants at strategic locations, further supporting Lagos’s ambitious green energy initiatives.  

“We are planning a biogas facility, and last year, we completed a feasibility study in partnership with the Swedish Government. Sweden has achieved zero waste by converting sewage and organic waste into biomethane at scale. If they can do it, we can. Our goal is to replicate the Swedish model here,” he stated.  

Out of the 13,000 tonnes of waste generated daily in Lagos, approximately 6,500 tonnes are organic materials that should be repurposed for composting, agriculture, and biomethane production rather than ending up in landfills.  

LAWMA, in collaboration with the Lagos State Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), is also working on deploying 2,000 compressed natural gas-powered buses to utilize the biogas produced once the facility is operational.  

In addition, Gbadegesin highlighted LAWMA’s partnership with a Dutch company, Harvest Waste, to establish a waste-to-energy plant at Epe, which will generate between 60 and 80 megawatts of electricity from approximately 2,500 tonnes of waste daily. The Dutch company is expected to invest up to 100 million euros in the project.  

“With these developments, we are moving towards a more sustainable future. It shows that if we commit ourselves to innovation and development, we can achieve global standards,” Gbadegesin concluded.  

The establishment of the Material Recovery Facility in Badagry marks a significant step forward in Lagos State’s pursuit of cleaner energy and efficient waste management.  !